Hampstead Wanderings

Today, I had a bit of a headache going on, so I wasn't up to heading out to Harrod's or the market with the rest of the group.  I wasn't up for the latter because crowds make me a bit uncomfortable, and I wasn't up for the former because I have to be in a good mood to window shop, and headaches tend to put me in... well, not so much of a good mood.  I tried to sleep in, but the weather outside looked so nice - so I decided that I was just going to arm myself with a camera, an Oyster Card (which lets me freely, but not for free, ride the transportation around here), and some cash and decide where I was going to go for the day.  I walked around for a little bit over ground - went to Tottenham Court road and couldn't find a place to eat... I mean, really.  I'm not paying eight dollars for a little patty cake of a burger.  It's sad what passes for a "burger" around here, really.  Anyway, I went down to the Underground and a name popped up: Hampstead.

To tell the truth, first I wanted to go to Camden Town, but then I had a change of heart - namely because Camden Town has a bit of a bad rap and I wasn't going to risk it with a headache.  Hampstead seemed like a more quiet choice.  So off I was - on a tube to Hampstead.

The thing about Hampstead - especially having been to Canterbury - is that it's definitely got a very small-town feel, even though it's in London.  It's almost bizarre, really.  When I hopped out of the station, I expected to find groups of people swarming around - but instead, I saw a few families walking around, just enjoying the weather like I was.  There was a lot of space to just be by myself - and in that vein, a lot of space to just be myself.  There weren't any tourists around, there weren't flashy signs or very many things to do all at once - this was just Hampstead.  Quite nice.

And then there was the Heath - which I sort of stumbled onto.  After sort of wandering around, finding that it's a bit hillier there than the borough I live in, I found my way back to Heath Street, and shortly after that, in front of a large wooded area - with a bunch of little trails zigzagging all over the place.  A little map near a fenced entrance told me that I was at the Heath (which took me by surprise, since I was expecting less trees - but there you go) and kindly pointed out for me the main trails and so on.  I'm not really a main trail kind of girl, though, so I sort of made my way into the woods.  It felt like I was hiking again - and I suppose I was.  I saw a cute older couple with little walking poles that they could get their bearings with.  But most of the people that I spotted (which, once again, wasn't very many) were out walking their labs, retrievers, and hounds.  Granted, I hadn't seen dogs of that size in London until this point - but here they were.  And they were obnoxiously cute.

After wandering through the woods for a little while (which I later discovered was actually "the bog" - I was wondering why there was so much mud and squishy things about) I came to a park on the heath.  It was huge.  Kids were running around playing (the proper form of) football, there was a (rein)deer enclosure... granted, I think I happened across the kid's park - but whatever.  I'm a kid, too.  I hung around the bird pond for a while before deciding that I might start heading back, since the sun was getting to a lower point in the sky.

Hampstead is amazing, really.  A bit of peace, quiet, and unspoiled nature in the middle of a bustling city - who would've thought?  I started to wonder which was stranger - having this in the city or having a city built around this. I paid my respects at the monument that honored the various community members who kept the Heath from being developed like everything else - it really is a little treasure.  Not too bad of a place to work off a headache.

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